


Comfort

by ficsandcatsandficsandcats



Category: The Witcher (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:54:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23959504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficsandcatsandficsandcats/pseuds/ficsandcatsandficsandcats
Summary: Reader Request: I've had a really crappy week and I'm wondering if you can write something with Jaskier comforting the reader when they feel small and weak and useless against the world and how cruel it is to people?
Relationships: Jaskier | Dandelion/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Comfort

The rock sailed through the air in a satisfying arc and landed in an even more satisfying crash, waves fading to join the ripples from the rock thrown right before. There were so few ways to vent your frustration but throwing rocks as hard as you could into the river had become one of your favorites whenever you could get away from home.

“I think you’re skipping it a bit hard,” a voice said behind you. You spun around and saw a face you hadn’t seen in years.

“Julian?” you asked incredulously.

“I go by Jaskier nowadays,” he said. “Now come give your old friend a hug.”

He looked much the same as he had the nearly five years before when you’d seen him last. His arms were just as warm, his hug just as comforting. He’d always given the best hugs.

“What brings you back to Oxenfurt?” you asked when you reluctantly pulled away.

“Just feeling a bit nostalgic. What brings you to viciously assault the river?” he asked, gesturing to the waters which had finally calmed. His question brings your troubles back to mind so suddenly Jaskier can see your shoulders sag under the weight of them and the smile leave your eyes.

“Oh, just work, you know how it is,” you said, trying to dismiss it and not burden your old friend.

“Come on, Y/N, talk to me,” he insisted, perching himself on a low-hanging limb of a tree and waiting. You suspected he hadn’t grown any less stubborn since you’d seen him last and you sat next to him.

“You know how I was determined to avoid going into the family business?” you asked. He nodded.

“Well, surprise, ended up there anyway.”

“So you’re a cleric?”

“No, just an aid. I mostly help around the church and visit the poor. I try to help them find resources, clothes, food, things like that,” you said.

“That’s brilliant. And perfect for you, you’ve always been so caring,” he said, beaming with pride.

“Well… The thing is… I don’t know how much longer I can do it,” you admitted, looking down at your hands as you said aloud what you’d been grappling with for some time.

“Did something happen?” he asked, suddenly worried.

“No. Yes? No. Not really. And that’s part of the problem.”

He looked at you, clearly confused, but waited patiently for you to explain.

“When I started working there I felt like I was really doing something. That I could help and make changes. I had these big dreams and ideas about ridding Oxenfurt of poverty by convincing people to provide aid. Not just around holidays or when they wanted to look good but sustained aid, structured to effect real change. And it’s been five years now and there’s just… more of the same. I’m watching generations of impoverished people who don’t even dream that they will ever get more out of life. And it’s not because they’re lazy or stupid, they’re just stuck. And I can give out all the bread and alms I want but ultimately what am I really doing?”

At some point while you were talking Jaskier had taken your hand and was squeezing it comfortingly between both of his.

“I know it sounds selfish but I just don’t know how much longer I can stand being so useless.”

“Well first of all, it’s not selfish. You suffering does no one any good. Just because there is suffering doesn’t mean you’re a bad person if you don’t feel it all the time. That’s exhausting. Secondly, where is this ‘useless’ thing coming from? You just told me that you’ve spent years dedicating your life to easing their pain and helping people which is quite the opposite of useless,” he insisted.

“But the needless cruelty and the overwhelming number of people in pain, it’s too much for me Jaskier and yet I know they need people who see these issues and care.”

“Well no one is saying you can’t care, Y/N. But you have to acknowledge that you’re not in this alone, and you’re not useless. In fact, I need to hear you say it out loud.”

“Jaskier come on.”

“I’m serious. If you can’t say it to me, your oldest friend and confidante, how will you ever learn how to say it to yourself?”

You sigh heavily but you can see he’s not going to let up.

“I’m not useless,” you said.

“That was pathetic, you can do better than that. Come on, say it with the same intensity you used to say ‘Jaskier I have to study, get out of my room’,” he said. You laughed despite yourself.

“I’m not useless,” you said, a bit more conviction in your tone.

“Good! Now say, what I do matters and I am enough,” he ordered.

“What I do matters and I am enough.”

“And if I choose to do something else, I am not a bad person.”

“If I choose to do something else, I am not a bad person.”

“I deserve to be happy.”

“I deserve to be happy,” you feel your eyes getting misty and Jaskier smiles at you proudly.

“Now say Jaskier is the most handsome, most talented bard and I was wrong to spurn him all those years ago.”

“You’re an ass,” you say, but he has you laughing, somehow after all of these years still capable of making you smile when you felt you never would again. He laughs along with you and then pulls you into a hug and you walk back to town with hand in hand, heart feeling lighter than it had in some time.


End file.
